


Walk a Hundred Miles

by kaclydid



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: F/M, Spoilers for Companion Quest, canon typical language, spoilers for Main Quest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-26 10:07:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7570027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaclydid/pseuds/kaclydid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One thing was for sure, though, and MacCready knew this as fact, the Nora he had met, fresh out of the cryo-vault, would not be leaving with them. Instead, the woman walking at his side as they left, heading back to Diamond City, was Nora the Wastelander - no longer a scared mother searching for her child, but a woman who would get her hands dirty to get what she wanted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Walk a Hundred Miles

Help her, get paid, get another job, run from the Gunners. That. Was. All.  
  
Anything after that, MacCready hadn’t planned, nor had he wanted to. None of it was meant to be. He hadn’t expected anything to happen with their contract after getting rid of Winlock and Barnes.  
  
Thinking back on it, he knew that was where he had changed course. Giving her back the caps she had paid him, telling her he’d continue to help her. The moment he opened his damn mouth, telling her about his son and the cure he needed, he knew there was no turning back.  
  
“You keep this up, you’re in it for good, RJ,” he mumbled to himself one morning, following behind Nora by a few paces, scanning the old highway as they headed back towards Diamond City.  
  
For how much he moaned and groaned about this pre-war relic calling the shots, he was starting to care for her. Her laugh whenever he told a joke around the fire, or the smile she got when she spoke with Nick about pre-war stuff. It was enough to make his heart swell. It was enough to wonder what kind of person - aside from the Minutemen General, or Railroad agent - this woman was.  
  
MedTek was his mistake. He had told her his son needed help, and Nora, being the woman she was, had agreed. She didn’t even care that they had to outrun ghouls and a Deathclaw to get into the building, the moment they were safe inside and the doors locked, she had smiled and looked around, rifle at the ready as the sound of shuffling ghouls caught their attention.  
  
After that, he was grateful for her. Nora was willing to help anyone, even if it put her in danger. They had made it out of that place with little problems and back to Goodneighbor faster than he had thought possible.   
  
So, when she had asked him to accompany her to Fort Hagen, he had accepted. By then, they had traveled together for some months, each knowing the basics of each other’s past. He had told her all about Duncan and Little Lamplight, the Capital Wasteland and everyday life since leaving with the Gunners. And in turn, she had told him about her job, Nate, the life of a pre-war homemaker. And for the first time since everything had started, they both had a friend, someone to trust in wholeheartedly.  
  
Which, when it came to clearing Fort Hagen of the synths guarding the halls, he was surprised at the person she had turned into. It was as if a switch had been flipped. Walking through the building, even at his occasional quip or joke, she had made no sound as she usually did. The moment the intercom came on and that dark voice filled their ears, there was definitely a visible change in her. With each pull of the trigger, she bit her lip, ignoring for the first time the scrap in all the desks and hiding places she usually looked for. This was a woman on a mission. A woman he didn’t know.  
  
The moment she had struck up a conversation with Kellogg, he was uneasy. The entire situation was uncomfortable. Which he had pointed out at least five times since entering through the roof access. Even the way she spoke was different.  
  
“ _...you psychopathic motherfuck--_ ” she had hissed.  
  
She didn’t curse, the only reasons she did were if she was hurt. He had been following her long enough to notice that. The only time he remembered hearing her do so was that one time near Salem when she had been shot by some raiders. And even then, she spit the words out like they were venom in her mouth as he patched her up with a bandana and duct tape, sticking a stimpak in her thigh once he was finished.   
.  
Nora knew there was no way this meeting would end peacefully. No way they would walk out of that fort unscathed. He had a feeling she knew that the moment Dogmeat had sat down in front of the barricaded doors, as if she could feel the change in atmosphere around the old building.  
  
One thing was for sure, though, and MacCready knew this as fact, the Nora he had met, fresh out of the cryo-vault, would not be leaving with them. Instead, the woman walking at his side as they left, heading back to Diamond City, was Nora the Wastelander - no longer a scared mother searching for her child, but a woman who would get her hands dirty to get what she wanted.  
  
To be frank, it scared the shit out of him. That, he had admitted straight to her face when they had paid for their rooms at the Dugout Inn that evening. She had shut down after that, leaving him to his own room without so much as a farewell.  
  
By morning, things had seemed to calm down. He met her for a quick breakfast at the Noodle stand before heading to Valentine’s. From there, he stood back replaying the previous day’s events in his mind as he listened, letting her talk with the detective about what they had found. When he heard “Head back to the Fort, see if you can find something”, his heart sank and his gaze flicked back to Nora.  
  
Slowly, she nodded, meeting Piper’s gaze, and then Nick’s. “Alright,” she nodded. “I’ll find what I can and meet you in Goodneighbor.”  
  
MacCready sighed in relief when she told the detective she would continue on with him.   
  
The walk out of Diamond City that afternoon was quiet. The entire trek back to the fort was quiet, and the moment they had reached the scaffolding leading to the entrance, MacCready finally spoke up, hoping to get some insight as to what she was feeling.  
  
“Everything alright, boss?” he asked, shouldering the rifle as she looked around.  
  
She nodded, once again biting her lip. Yes, killing Kellogg had changed her and it was tearing her up inside - MacCready could tell - but there was something off. Something different about the way she held herself today. Taking a deep breath, squaring her shoulders, she turned to him, fighting the urge to cry.  
  
“When you told me about Duncan and the cure,” she started, voice soft, “You knew the outcome. You knew what would happen once that cure left for the Capital.” She trailed off, turning away, teeth digging into her bottom lip as tears brimmed in her eyes. “I don’t know what to do. I can’t go back now ... “ Her gaze drifted to the roof access they had previously entered through, the metal doors still wet from that morning’s rain.  
  
His mouth opened to speak, and a moment later, his breath was knocked out as Nora wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her head in his chest.  
  
“Don’t even think about moving, Mac,” she ordered, her arms tightening as she felt him shift backward.  
  
Nodding, his arms wrapped around her shoulders. “We have to go --”  
  
“Shut up,” she mumbled, taking a deep breath. MacCready nodded, bowing his head slightly as he held her in his embrace.  
  
He was in too deep now. No chance of leaving her behind and resuming his miserable life, collecting caps, before heading back home to his son. Holding her close, his chest tightened and he cursed at himself for letting it go on this far. He cared for her, and there was nothing he could do to convince himself otherwise.  
  
They stayed in each other’s arms for what seemed like hours, clouds eventually blocking out the afternoon sun overhead. Nora was the first to push away, wiping at her nose with a short sniffle and a nod, turning away from MacCready. He kept his stance, not moving as she paced back and forth in front of the door.  
  
“Screw it,” he thought, shaking himself from his thoughts and stepping forward. He held her back, saying under no circumstances would she ever return to that room downstairs - he would look through all of Kellogg’s shit to see if there was anything useful for her. She nodded, hugging him again.  
  
The minute he had returned to her on the roof, she rushed towards him, arms flying around his waist as she tilted on her toes to press a quick kiss to the side of his lips.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm replaying Fallout 4 and got hit with some feels while playing the MedTek and Fort Hagen quests.
> 
> The Deathclaw thing did happen to me when I was trying to get into the building.


End file.
